We’re still three months out from the release of Dark Souls 3 and while From Software has been tight lipped about the enigmatic story that awaits us in Lordran/Dranaglic, they have been showing off plenty of gameplay. Taken from a recent developer livestream and reported by Eurogamer; players get a look at the thief class in an area very reminiscent of From’s recent hit Bloodborne.
Dark Souls has always been a very layered series, not just in terms of gameplay, story structure and mechanics, but with its design in general. Each subsequent entry in the series builds on the other; incorporating themes, visual aesthetics and other aspects from its predecessor. In this video in particular, you can clearly see how Bloodborne influenced the development of Dark Souls 3.
Combat is much faster paced than in Dark Souls 2, the player needs to rely on the twitch reflexes they honed in Yharnam. In the demo, the player didn’t seem to rely on their shield that much, choosing instead to two hand their dagger. That could be because of the build and the weapon’s damage and not be indicative of the combat in general, but it’s too early to tell.
Another speculation of mine is that Dark Souls 3 is running on a modified, if not the same, engine as Bloodborne. That would explain the pace of combat and the similar animations (i.e. the blood spatter and backstab) to Bloodborne. It’s unlikely that From started from scratch considering the time between this and their last game.
Moving on to the environment, again we see the game’s lineage. The area looks like if you crossed the Forbidden Woods and Huntsman’s Copse. It transitions from claustrophobic hallways and tight corners, to a larger open area before ending on a cliff side, showing off snowy mountains and the expansive world that the series is known for.
Overall Dark Souls 3 has look and feel of a traditional Souls game with added features to challenge the average fan and test the veteran players.
Dark Souls 3 will be out on April 12th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC and will come with collector’s edition for the die hard fans. If that’s not enough Souls content, check out the Dark Souls comic also coming this April.